European Cabinetry

European Cabinetry

The Europeans in my opinion have taken cabinetry to another level with ingenuity and efficiency.

I once read an article about how the Europeans use frameless cabinetry and modern hardware –

It explained that when someone moves house they physically take their kitchen with them and re-install the kitchen into their new home, makes sense when it comes to cost saving. The world has slowly adopted Frameless cabinetry and European hardware because of the ease of assembly, modern clean lines and most importantly the production factor.

System 32

No! System 32 has nothing to do with Microsoft Windows –LOL! But it is a very important system in the Construction of European Frameless cabinets. It uses a series of 5mm holes spaced 32mm apart and 37mm into a panel (see figure 1).

After World War 2, Most of Europe had been destroyed and Timber was scarce. Engineers at that time had to come up with unique ways of getting around the shortage.

Sheet material like particle board was available at the time and so hardware and machinery had to be invented to use sheet material. The result of this innovation has come to be known as the System 32.

European Hinges and Slides are manufactured to this standard making assembly uniformed and less burdened.

A basic European frameless cabinet is essentially a box with feet attached. Full overlay hinges or half overlay hinges are used to attach a door or a combination of drawer boxes with drawer slides.

A panel with system 32 will always be equal no matter which Way the panel is turned.

The amount of furniture hardware available today is massive and can change the look and feel of any cabinet.

Most of this hardware is manufactured for system 32. So when you start your next cabinet think about the system 32 process and how it will standardize your cabinets especially if you are doing a DIY kitchen.

I found a great website that explains the system 32 process much better than I ever could: http://davelers.com/32mm/Basics/157.html  – check it out you won’t be disappointed.

Have Fun!  Regards

Michael van Sittert